Vehicle passenger seat airbag device

Abstract

To provide a front passenger seat airbag device for a vehicle which can suppress a load than necessary from being applied to an occupant.SOLUTION: A front passenger seat airbag device 10 for a vehicle includes: an airbag body 20 which is stored in a vehicle rear side end of an instrument panel 12 on a front passenger seat side, and is expanded and developed to the vehicle rear side from an opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 by a gas jetted from an inflator 16; a flow regulation cloth 30 which has an introduction port 34 that is formed in such a cylindrical shape as to have an open part 32 where both of left and right sides are opened inside the airbag body 20 and introduces the gas jetted from the inflator 16 to a peripheral surface 33, and distributes the gas introduced from the introduction port 34 to both left / right sides inside the airbag body 20 from the open part 32; and a sewn part 36 where a part on an upper side of the introduction port 34 in the flow regulation cloth 30 is sewn along a right / left direction in the airbag body 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a passenger seat airbag device for a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] There has been conventionally known a passenger seat airbag device that suppresses the forward inclination of a dummy head by a front flap that covers the bulging side of the airbag from the upper side to the lower side when the airbag expands and deploys, and suppresses the sudden backward inclination of the dummy head by a rear flap that covers the bulging side of the airbag from the lower side to the upper side (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the case of an electric vehicle or the like where the instrument panel is thinned (the vertical length of the instrument panel is reduced), the airbag device is arranged closer to the occupant side. In this case, there is no room to adjust the deployment direction of the flap as described above.

[0005] Also, for example, when the airbag deploys due to the impact of a collision while the vehicle is stopped, a rectifying cloth provided in the airbag and inflated to a high internal pressure at the initial stage of deployment may strongly press the chest of the occupant through the airbag. That is, when the vehicle is stopped, the occupant may not be sitting in a proper posture with respect to the seat, and if the airbag deploys when the occupant's chest is close to the instrument panel, the occupant may be injured by the high internal pressure rectifying cloth that expands at the initial stage of deployment.

[0006] Particularly, in the case of an occupant who is a child (e.g., a 3-year-old child), when not sitting in a proper posture with respect to the seat, the amount of contact via the airbag with the rectifying cloth having a high internal pressure (the amount of interference overlapping in the vehicle longitudinal direction in a side view seen from the vehicle width direction) increases. Thus, there is a risk of applying an excessive load to an adult or child occupant not sitting in a proper posture by the airbag (rectifying cloth).

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a passenger seat airbag device for a vehicle that can suppress the application of an excessive load to an occupant.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] To achieve the above object, a passenger seat airbag device for a vehicle according to a first aspect of the present invention is housed in the rear end portion of the instrument panel on the passenger seat side in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and an airbag body that expands and deploys rearward in the vehicle from the opening of the instrument panel by gas ejected from an inflater, and a cylindrical shape having an opening portion with both left and right sides opened inside the airbag body, and having an inlet port through which the gas ejected from the inflater is introduced on the circumferential surface, and a rectifying cloth that distributes the gas introduced from the inlet port to both left and right sides inside the airbag body from the opening portion, and at least one of a part on the upper side and a part on the lower side of the rectifying cloth above the inlet port is sewn along the left-right direction to the airbag body, and a sewing portion is provided.

[0009] According to the invention of the first aspect, when the vehicle collides (or is rear-ended), the inflater operates, and the gas ejected from the inflater is distributed to both left and right sides inside the airbag body through the rectifying cloth while the airbag body expands and deploys. Here, for example, in the case of an occupant who is a child corresponding to a 3-year-old child, when not sitting in a proper posture with respect to the seat (passenger seat), the chest may come to a position facing the rectifying cloth.

[0010] However, at least one of a part on the upper side and a part on the lower side of the air intake port in the air guide cloth is sewn along the left - right direction to the airbag body. Therefore, the amount of protrusion of the air guide cloth toward the rear side of the vehicle is reduced, and the thickness of the air guide cloth in the vehicle front - rear direction is reduced. As a result, for the above - mentioned child occupant, the contact amount (interference amount) via the airbag body with respect to the air guide cloth with a high internal pressure is reduced. That is, it is suppressed that an excessive load is applied to the occupant.

[0011] Further, the vehicle passenger seat airbag device according to the second aspect of the present invention is the vehicle passenger seat airbag device according to the first aspect, wherein the sewing portion is formed at the center portion in the left - right direction of the air guide cloth.

[0012] According to the invention of the second aspect, the sewing portion is formed at the center portion in the left - right direction of the air guide cloth. Therefore, while suppressing the instability of the deployment behavior of the air guide cloth when gas is instantaneously supplied and inflated and deployed, the amount of protrusion toward the rear side of the vehicle (thickness in the vehicle front - rear direction) at the center portion in the left - right direction of the air guide cloth is reduced. Thus, for example, for the above - mentioned child occupant, the contact amount (interference amount) via the airbag body with respect to the air guide cloth with a high internal pressure is more effectively reduced, and it is more effectively suppressed that an excessive load is applied to the occupant.

[0013] Further, the vehicle passenger seat airbag device according to the third aspect of the present invention is the vehicle passenger seat airbag device according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the air guide cloth is deployed, the rear - side end portion of the opening portion is located on the rear side of the vehicle more than the rear - side end portion of the instrument panel.

[0014] According to the invention of the third aspect, when the air guide cloth is deployed, the rear - side end portion of the opening portion is located on the rear side of the vehicle more than the rear - side end portion of the instrument panel. Therefore, gas is efficiently distributed from the opening portion of the air guide cloth to both left and right sides inside the airbag body. As a result, the deployment performance of the airbag body is more effectively ensured.

[0015] Moreover, the passenger seat airbag device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the passenger seat airbag device according to the third aspect, wherein the sewing portion above the inlet is formed at a position 30 mm above or 30 mm below the upper edge of the opening, and the sewing portion below the inlet is formed at a position 30 mm below or 30 mm above the lower edge of the opening.

[0016] According to the invention of the fourth aspect, the sewing portion above the inlet is formed at a position 30 mm above or 30 mm below the upper edge of the opening, and the sewing portion below the inlet is formed at a position 30 mm below or 30 mm above the lower edge of the opening. Therefore, compared with the case where the sewing portion above the inlet is not formed at positions 30 mm above and 30 mm below the upper edge of the opening and the sewing portion below the inlet is not formed at positions 30 mm below and 30 mm above the lower edge of the opening, the amount of protrusion of the rectifying cloth toward the rear side of the vehicle (thickness in the vehicle front-rear direction) is more effectively reduced, and it is more effectively suppressed that an excessive load is applied to the occupant.

[0017] Moreover, the passenger seat airbag device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the passenger seat airbag device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the instrument panel is formed such that the length in the vehicle vertical direction is shorter than the length in the vehicle front-rear direction in a side view.

[0018] According to the invention of the fifth aspect, in a side view, the length of the instrument panel in the vehicle vertical direction is formed shorter than the length in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, although the airbag body and the rectifying cloth are arranged closer to the occupant side, since the amount of protrusion of the rectifying cloth toward the rear side of the vehicle (thickness in the vehicle front-rear direction) is reduced, while suppressing the application of an excessive load to the occupant, the occupant is effectively restrained by the airbag body.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] As described above, according to the present invention, in the passenger seat airbag device for a vehicle, it is possible to suppress the application of an excessive load to the occupant.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, in each figure, the arrow UP shown as appropriate is the upward direction of the vehicle, the arrow FR is the forward direction of the vehicle, and the arrow RH is the rightward direction of the vehicle. Therefore, in the following description, when the directions of up and down, front and back, left and right are described without special mention, they indicate up and down, front and back, left and right in the vehicle. Also, the left-right direction is synonymous with the vehicle width direction.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, a passenger seat airbag device (hereinafter referred to as "airbag device") 10 according to this embodiment is provided, as an example, in a vehicle with a right-hand steering wheel (not shown). That is, this airbag device 10 is housed inside a resin instrument panel (hereinafter referred to as "IP") 12 at the front left seat of the vehicle.

[0023] Note that the vehicle to which the airbag device 10 according to this embodiment is applied is mainly a battery electric vehicle (BEV). In the case of an electric vehicle, the engine compartment is reduced and the passenger compartment is enlarged. Therefore, the IP 12 tends to be formed such that the length (height) in the vertical direction is shorter than the length in the front-rear direction in a side view seen from the vehicle width direction.

[0024] That is, the IP 12 tends to be thinned with a reduced length (height) in the vertical direction in a side view. Therefore, this airbag device 10 is housed in the rear end portion 12B of the IP 12. Also, the rear end portion 12B of this IP 12 may be located in front of the chest Pc of an occupant P (for example, an occupant corresponding to a 3-year-old human dummy) who is not sitting in a normal posture on the passenger seat (seat).

[0025] The airbag device 10 includes a single inflator 16 supported by a support member 14 provided inside the instrument panel 12. The inflator 16 is adapted to instantaneously eject (supply) gas into the interior of the airbag body 20 described later through the interior of the rectifying cloth 30 described later.

[0026] Further, the inflator 16 is electrically connected to a detection device (not shown) such as an acceleration sensor provided in the vehicle. When a collision (or rear-end collision) of the vehicle is detected by the detection device, the inflator 16 operates to instantaneously eject gas into the interior (the interior of the airbag body 20) of the rectifying cloth 30.

[0027] An opening 12A (see FIG. 2) for expanding and deploying the airbag body 20 rearward is formed at the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12, and the opening 12A is closed by a door portion (not shown) integrally formed with the instrument panel 12. This door portion is adapted to be broken by the rectifying cloth 30 and the airbag body 20 that expand and deploy upon the operation of the inflator 16.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the airbag device 10 includes a cloth airbag body 20 that expands and deploys rearward from the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 by the gas ejected from the inflator 16. In FIG. 2, the occupant P sitting in the passenger seat is omitted to show the shape of the expanded and deployed airbag body 20 and the rectifying cloth 30 described later.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag body 20 is configured to be bag-shaped with a main panel 22 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and arranged along the front-rear direction, and left and right side panels 24 and 26 of a symmetrical shape that close the left and right sides of the main panel 22 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape.

[0030] Specifically, the main panel 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by fixing one end portion 22A and the other end portion 22B in its longitudinal direction to the support member 14, respectively. And the peripheral edge portion 24A of the left side panel 24 and the peripheral edge portion 26A of the right side panel 26 are attached to the left peripheral edge portion 22L and the right peripheral edge portion 22R of the main panel 22 by sewing, respectively. Thus, the airbag body 20 is formed in a bag shape.

[0031] And as shown in FIG. 2, in the inflated and deployed airbag body 20, a part of the outer surface (the surface opposite to the occupant restraint surface) of the front wall 28 is in contact with the inner surface of the front windshield glass 18 at a predetermined pressure, and is pressed relatively rearward by the front windshield glass 18 (a reaction force is obtained from the front windshield glass 18).

[0032] Note that vent holes (not shown) through which gas is discharged after restraining the occupant P are formed in the left side panel 24 and the right side panel 26 of the airbag body 20, respectively. Also, the width (the length along the left-right direction) of the airbag body 20 is set to a width that protrudes outward in the left-right direction beyond both knees of an adult occupant (for example, an occupant corresponding to the anthropomorphic dummy AM50: not shown). And this airbag body 20 is stored inside the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12 in a folded state by a predetermined folding method.

[0033] Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the airbag device 10 includes a rectifying cloth 30 made of cloth (made of a base cloth equivalent to the airbag body 20) on the instrument panel 12 side inside the airbag body 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the rectifying cloth 30 is provided so as to form a cylindrical shape with a predetermined length having both left and right sides open when gas is ejected from the inflator 16 and expands and deploys.

[0034] That is, this rectifying cloth 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape with the left - right direction as the axial direction (longitudinal direction) by sewing one longitudinal end 30A and the other end 30B shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to each other. As a result, on both left - and right - hand sides of the rectifying cloth 30, an opening 32 (see FIG. 6) for supplying gas into the airbag body 20 is formed.

[0035] And this rectifying cloth 30 has an inlet 34 into which the gas jetted from the inflator 16 is introduced at the center in the left - right direction (axial direction) on its peripheral surface 33. That is, the inlet 34 of this rectifying cloth 30 is connected to the jet outlet (not shown) of the inflator 16, and the periphery of the inlet 34 is fixed to the support member 14 together with one end 22A and the other end 22B of the main panel 22.

[0036] As a result, the rectifying cloth 30 distributes the gas introduced from (jetted into) the inlet 34 to both left - and right - hand sides inside the airbag body 20. When the rectifying cloth 30 is deployed, the rear end 32B of the opening 32 is positioned behind the rear end 12B of the instrument panel 12 (see FIG. 6). Also, this rectifying cloth 30 is stored inside the rear end 12B of the instrument panel 12 in a state of being folded together with the airbag body 20 in a predetermined folding manner.

[0037] Also, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, this airbag device 10 includes a sewing part 36 formed by sewing a part of the rectifying cloth 30 above the inlet 34 along the left - right direction to the airbag body 20. The sewing part 36 is formed only at the center in the left - right direction (axial direction) of the rectifying cloth 30 and is not formed at both ends in the left - right direction (axial direction) of the rectifying cloth 30. And the length of the sewing part 36 is made equal to or greater than the length in the left - right direction at the chest Pc of the child passenger P (a 3 - year - old anthropomorphic dummy).

[0038] Further, the sewing portion 36 is formed at a position 30 mm above (+30 mm position) the upper edge portion 12C of the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 in a side view. Note that the sewing portion 36 is not limited to being formed at the illustrated position, and may be formed at a position 30 mm below (-30 mm position) the upper edge portion 12C of the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 toward the lower side (the inner side of the instrument panel 12).

[0039] Next, the operation of the airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

[0040] When a detection device detects that the vehicle has collided (or been rear-ended), the inflator 16 is activated, and gas is instantaneously ejected (supplied) into the airbag main body 20 through the inside of the rectifying cloth 30. That is, the airbag main body 20 expands and deploys toward the rear side (the side of the occupant P). Specifically, the gas ejected from the inflator 16 is first ejected (supplied) into the rectifying cloth 30.

[0041] Then, the gas ejected (supplied) into the rectifying cloth 30 passes through the rectifying cloth 30 and is ejected from the open portions 32 formed on both the left and right sides thereof (distributed to both the left and right sides) and supplied into the airbag main body 20. In this way, when the rectifying cloth 30 is provided inside the airbag main body 20, it is possible to suppress the behavior of the airbag main body 20 from becoming unstable due to the high pressure of the gas instantaneously ejected as compared with a configuration in which the rectifying cloth 30 is not provided inside the airbag main body 20.

[0042] Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the rectifying cloth 30 is deployed, the rear end portion 32B of the open portion 32 is located on the rear side of the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12. Therefore, compared with the case where the rear end portion 32B of the open portion 32 is located at the same position as the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12, gas can be efficiently distributed from the open portion 32 of the rectifying cloth 30 to both the left and right sides inside the airbag main body 20. Thereby, the deployment performance of the airbag main body 20 can be more effectively ensured.

[0043] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a part of the outer surface of the front wall 28 of the airbag body 20 contacts the inner surface of the front windshield glass 18 with a predetermined pressure, and is pressed relatively rearward by the front windshield glass 18 (obtaining a reaction force from the front windshield glass 18).

[0044] Therefore, even if the airbag body 20 is enlarged as the instrument panel 12 is thinned, for example, it is possible to more effectively suppress the deployment behavior of the airbag body 20 from becoming unstable when gas is instantaneously supplied and inflated and deployed (the deployment behavior can be more effectively stabilized). Thus, the occupant P sitting in the passenger seat can be appropriately restrained.

[0045] Also, a sewing portion 36 is formed on the rectifying cloth 30, where a part of the upper side of the inlet 34 is sewn along the left - right direction to the airbag body 20. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the case of the occupant P of a child corresponding to a 3 - year - old human dummy, even when the chest Pc is at a position facing the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12 in the front - rear direction, the peripheral surface 33 of the inflated and deployed rectifying cloth 30 does not press the chest Pc via the airbag body 20.

[0046] Here, the airbag device 110 according to the comparative example will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the rectifying cloth 130 in this airbag device 110 is not provided with a sewing portion 36 (see FIG. 2 etc.) where a part of the upper side of the inlet (not shown) is sewn along the left - right direction to the airbag body 120.

[0047] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of the occupant P of a child corresponding to a 3 - year - old human dummy, when the chest Pc is at a position facing the rear end portion 12B of the instrument panel 12 in the front - rear direction, the peripheral surface 133 of the inflated and deployed rectifying cloth 130 presses the chest Pc via the airbag body 120.

[0048] On the other hand, in the airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, a sewing portion 36 along the left-right direction is formed on the upper side of the inlet 34 of the rectifying cloth 30. Therefore, when the rectifying cloth 30 expands and deploys, the amount of protrusion of its peripheral surface 33 toward the rear side can be reduced, and the thickness of the rectifying cloth 30 along the substantially front-rear direction can be reduced.

[0049] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of the child occupant P, the contact amount (the interference amount that overlaps in the front-rear direction in side view: shown by the solid line) of the airbag main body 20 with respect to the rectifying cloth 30 having a high internal pressure after the inflater 16 operates can be reduced compared to the case of the airbag device 110 according to the comparative example (shown by the broken line).

[0050] That is, according to the airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the application of an overly high load to the child occupant P. As a result, the injury value to the chest Pc and further to the neck of the child occupant P can be reduced.

[0051] Further, this sewing portion 36 is formed only at the center in the left-right direction of the rectifying cloth 30 (not formed at both ends in the left-right direction of the rectifying cloth 30). Therefore, compared with the case where the sewing portion 36 is formed over the entire left-right direction (axial direction) of the rectifying cloth 30, it is possible to suppress the development behavior of the rectifying cloth 30 from becoming unstable when gas is instantaneously supplied and expands and deploys, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in the rectifying effect of the gas flowing into the airbag main body 20.

[0052] That is, such a sewing portion 36 can reduce the amount of protrusion (thickness in the substantially front-rear direction) toward the rear side at the center in the left-right direction of the rectifying cloth 30 while suppressing a decrease in the deployment performance of the airbag main body 20. Therefore, in the case of the child occupant P, the contact amount (interference amount) of the airbag main body 20 with respect to the rectifying cloth 30 having a high internal pressure can be more effectively reduced, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the application of an overly high load to the child occupant P.

[0053] Further, the length of the sewing part 36 is set to be equal to or greater than the length in the left - right direction at the chest Pc of the child occupant P (a 3 - year - old anthropomorphic dummy). Therefore, compared with the case where the length of the sewing part 36 is less than the length in the left - right direction at the chest Pc of the child occupant P (a 3 - year - old anthropomorphic dummy), in the child occupant P, the contact amount (interference amount) of the airbag body 20 with respect to the rectifying cloth 30 having a high internal pressure can be more effectively reduced, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the application of an excessive load to the child occupant P.

[0054] Furthermore, this sewing part 36 is formed at a position 30 mm above (+30 mm position) or 30 mm below (-30 mm position) from the upper edge part 12C of the opening part 12A of the instrument panel 12. Therefore, compared with the case where the sewing part 36 is not formed at a position 30 mm above (+30 mm position) and 30 mm below (-30 mm position) from the upper edge part 12C of the opening part 12A, while maintaining the deployment performance of the airbag body 20, the protruding amount (thickness in the substantially front - rear direction) of the rectifying cloth 30 to the rear side can be more effectively reduced, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the application of an excessive load to the child occupant P.

[0055] Also, this instrument panel 12 is formed such that in a side view, the length in the vertical direction is shorter than the length in the front - rear direction. Therefore, although the airbag body 20 and the rectifying cloth 30 are arranged closer to the occupant P side, since the protruding amount (thickness in the substantially front - rear direction) of the rectifying cloth 30 to the rear side is reduced, while suppressing the application of an excessive load to the occupant P, the occupant P can be effectively restrained by the airbag body 20.

[0056] (Modification example) Note that, as shown in FIG. 8, this airbag device 10 may be provided with a sewing portion 38 in which a part of the lower side of the airbag body 20 is sewn along the left - right direction in the rectifying cloth 30, rather than the sewing portion 36 described above. This sewing portion 38 is also formed only at the center portion in the left - right direction (axial direction) of the rectifying cloth 30 and is not formed at both ends in the left - right direction (axial direction) of the rectifying cloth 30. And the length of the sewing portion 38 is set to be equal to or greater than the length in the left - right direction at the chest Pc of the child occupant P (a 3 - year - old anthropomorphic dummy).

[0057] Also, the sewing portion 38 is formed at a position 30 mm below (+30 mm position) from the lower edge portion 12D of the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 in a side view. Note that the position of the sewing portion 38 is not limited to the position shown in the figure and may be formed at a position 30 mm above (-30 mm position) from the lower edge portion 12D of the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 to the upper side (the inner side of the instrument panel 12).

[0058] When the sewing portion 38 is formed at a position 30 mm below (+30 mm position) or 30 mm above (-30 mm position) from the lower edge portion 12D of the opening 12A of the instrument panel 12 in this way, compared with the case where the sewing portion 38 is not formed at the position 30 mm below (+30 mm position) and 30 mm above (-30 mm position) from the lower edge portion 12D of the opening 12A, while maintaining the deployment performance of the airbag body 20, the protrusion amount of the rectifying cloth 30 to the rear side (the thickness in the substantially front - rear direction) can be more effectively reduced, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the application of an excessive load to the child occupant P.

[0059] As described above, the passenger seat airbag device 10 for a vehicle according to the present embodiment has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the passenger seat airbag device 10 for a vehicle according to the present embodiment is not limited to the illustrated one, and can be appropriately designed and changed within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the inflator 16 may be configured to operate not only when a collision (or rear-end collision) of the vehicle is detected, but also when a collision (or rear-end collision) of the vehicle is predicted by a collision prediction sensor or the like.

[0060] Further, both the upper sewing portion 36 and the lower sewing portion 38 may be formed in the flow rectifying cloth 30. Thus, in the present embodiment, at least one of a part on the upper side and a part on the lower side of the flow rectifying cloth 30 above the inlet 34 may be sewn along the left-right direction to the airbag body 20 to form the sewing portions 36 and 38. However, the upper sewing portion 36 has a greater effect of reducing the protruding amount of the flow rectifying cloth 30 toward the chest Pc of the child passenger P from the positional relationship with respect to the chest Pc of the child passenger P as described above, compared to the lower sewing portion 38.

[0061] Also, the passenger is not limited to the above-described child passenger P, and may be the above-described adult passenger. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, it is conceivable that an adult passenger is not sitting in a proper posture on the passenger seat. Specifically, it is conceivable that an adult passenger has removed the seat belt and is sleeping with the chest close to the instrument panel 12. At this time, if the airbag body 20 is deployed due to a rear-end collision or the like, there is a risk that the passenger may be injured by the high internal pressure flow rectifying cloth 30 that expands in the initial stage of deployment.

[0062] However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the sewing portions 36 and 38 are provided in which at least one of a part on the upper side and a part on the lower side of the flow rectifying cloth 30 above the inlet 34 is sewn along the left-right direction to the airbag body 20. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the application of an excessive load even to an adult passenger who is sleeping with the chest close to the instrument panel 12 (not sitting in a proper posture).

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0063] 10 Airbag device (passenger seat airbag device for vehicle) 12 Instrument panel 12A Opening 16 Inflator 20 Airbag body 30 Rectifying cloth 32 Opening part 33 Peripheral surface 34 Inlet 36 Sewing part 38 Sewing part

Claims

1. An airbag body that is housed at the rear end of the instrument panel on the passenger side toward the rear of the vehicle and expands and deploys from the opening of the instrument panel toward the rear of the vehicle by gas ejected from an inflator; A cylindrical member provided inside the airbag body and having an open portion with both left and right sides open, and having an inlet port on the circumferential surface into which gas ejected from the inflator is introduced, and a rectifying cloth that distributes the gas introduced from the inlet port to both left and right sides inside the airbag body from the open portion; A sewing portion formed by sewing at least one of a part on the upper side and a part on the lower side of the rectifying cloth above the inlet port along the left - right direction to the airbag body; Comprising; A vehicle passenger - side airbag device, wherein the sewing portion is formed only at the center portion in the left - right direction of the rectifying cloth and is not formed at both left - right end portions.

2. The vehicle passenger - side airbag device according to Claim 1, wherein the length of the sewing portion is equal to or greater than the length in the left - right direction of the chest of a 3 - year - old human dummy.

3. The vehicle passenger - side airbag device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein when the rectifying cloth is deployed, the rear - end portion of the open portion on the rear side of the vehicle is located further rearward of the vehicle than the rear - end portion of the instrument panel on the rear side of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle passenger - side airbag device according to Claim 3, wherein the sewing portion on the upper side of the inlet port is formed at a position 30 mm above or 30 mm below the upper edge of the opening, and the sewing portion on the lower side of the inlet port is formed at a position 30 mm below or 30 mm above the lower edge of the opening.

5. The vehicle passenger - side airbag device according to Claim 4, wherein the instrument panel is formed such that the length in the up - down direction of the vehicle in side view is shorter than the length in the front - rear direction of the vehicle.

Images